


a catalogue of non-definitive acts

by schweet_heart



Series: Merlin Fic [157]
Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Arthur Knows About Merlin's Magic, Banter, Canon Era, Domestic Fluff, Established Relationship, Fluff and Angst, Friends With Benefits, Friends to Lovers, Idiots in Love, Kissing, M/M, Mutual Pining, Not Actually Unrequited Love, Oblivious Arthur Pendragon, Oblivious Merlin, Rough Oral Sex, Sex Magic, Sleepy Kisses
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-08
Updated: 2018-12-08
Packaged: 2019-09-13 22:03:09
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 510
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16900644
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/schweet_heart/pseuds/schweet_heart
Summary: In the morning, Arthur rolls over and kisses Merlin awake.Written for arthur_pendragon'sMerthur Kiss Fest.





	a catalogue of non-definitive acts

**Author's Note:**

> Title from Richard Siken's [_Litany in Which Certain Things Are Crossed Out_](https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/48158/litany-in-which-certain-things-are-crossed-out).

 

1.

 

In the morning, Arthur rolls over and kisses Merlin awake. It takes some time: Merlin is not a morning person. Sunlight warms the curve of his naked shoulder and highlights the pinkness of his skin, outlining his splayed hands where Arthur threads their fingers together. Merlin moves under him, arching, rubbing up against still-tender places, and doesn’t open his eyes until Arthur promises to kiss him stupid, stupider than he already is, and begins by fitting his mouth to Merlin’s throat in a way that makes him moan.

 

* * *

 

 

2.

 

Merlin is not allowed in council meetings, which is why Arthur brings him anyway. He is more than decorative: sometimes he catches things that Arthur misses, or is able to supply crucial information which the nobles—being nobles—were bred to overlook. His usefulness has nothing to do with the way he stands like a pillar at Arthur’s back, silent and watchful, the only one on his side in a room full of greedy men, or the way he follows Arthur out into the courtyard afterwards, visibly fuming, and says all the things about his father that Arthur can never think out loud.

 

* * *

 

 

3.

 

“Are you stealing my supper again?” Arthur inquires, filching the last bit of sausage to keep it out of Merlin’s hands. Merlin widens his eyes, all innocence, but he’s laughing underneath and not afraid to let it show.  
  
“Just doing my bit for the royal waistline,” he says, sliding a hand around Arthur’s chest and down. “And the royal coffers. And the royal—”  
  
“Shut up,” Arthur says, twitching under Merlin’s fingers, but Merlin has already stolen the plate and run.

 

* * *

 

 

4.

 

Merlin fucks him like he was born to it, but the use of magic is where he truly shines, pinning Arthur to the bed without effort and breaking furiously against him like a storm striking the rocks at sea.  
  
“Merlin, please,” Arthur whispers, ragged, all white-knuckled fists and straining tendons. Merlin’s tongue traces the length of the scar bisecting Arthur’s thigh, dipping into the hollow at his hips and circling the ridge of bone beneath the skin, and Arthur had never thought that pleasure could be a torture until just now. “Merlin. I’m sorry.”  
  
“Sorry for what?” Merlin’s eyes are swimming gold when Arthur looks at him, runnels forming on his cheeks and splashing hot onto Arthur’s skin. “For being born a prince? For putting yourself in harm’s way?” His mouth closes over the head, hand slick and moving at the base, and Arthur cries out, spending himself down Merlin’s throat before he can think of an answer.

 

* * *

 

 

5.

 

In the morning, Arthur kisses Merlin awake. It takes some time: Merlin is not a morning person, his face buried in Arthur’s shoulder and one knee pressed flush against his aching groin.  
  
“I swear sometimes you do it on purpose,” Arthur murmurs, carding his fingers through the tousled hair. Merlin mumbles and stirs, smiling even before he opens his eyes.  
  
“Why else would I do it, Your Majesty?” he asks sleepily. “What are old friends for?”

 


End file.
